Black American Photography Essay

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Two major renowned and notable Magazines/Newspapers shared the same chief editor: Henry R. Luce, who was an ardent advocate of civil rights for every American, his magazines tended to sympathize with the Civil Rights Movement, and came-out strongly against segregationists and the Ku Klux Klan in particular. On top of this, Life Magazine traditionally placed much emphasis on photo-journalism, and its articles on the Civil Rights Movement were no different, as each contained several pictures of the events, the question that arises is: What was the role of Black American photographers in defending their cause? In 1961, Carl Rowan, a black reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune, described Birmingham, Alabama as “the world’s most race-conscious …show more content…

Mr.Withers photographed ordinary people in the street but he also photographed celebrities like Martin Luther King and the legendary musician BB.King,Ray Charles and several others. It was said that Ernest Withers took millions of photographs, many were not attributed to him, which appeared to numerous newspapers and magazine throughout the world, Whiters had photographed all of Dr.King’s public appearances in Memphis, he had also photographed private moment of the spiritual leader of the movement relaxed on the bed in his bedroom hotel, again the viewer is struck by the intimacy of Whiters’ pictures, Ernest was not on the scene when the murder of King took place. The news came to him at his studio; he immediately grabbed a camera and headed to the Lorraine Motel, taking pictures of the crowd gathering there. ‘Ernest Withers was one of the prominent eyes of the movement, his eyes were the camera and the camera trusted his potential and knew that he had a sweet vision’ Hank Klibanoff (2007, December) The Eye on the Prize. retrieved from:

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